


Grumps On The Run

by EmilyTheDoe



Category: Game Grumps, Pokemon - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, F/F, Gen, Post-Apocalypse, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-11-15 10:57:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20865077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilyTheDoe/pseuds/EmilyTheDoe
Summary: Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan were recording for their channel, Game Grumps one day. They were playing a game, as Game Grumps normally do, until one fateful event would shake up their lives. They didn't know what it was at first, but it'd be something they'd remember. This is a story of how they dealt with said event, and its aftermath. Platonic-only shipping thus far.Originally Published: 05/22/2017Last Chapter Published:





	1. The Opening

**Author's Note:**

> Pokemon is owned by Nintendo/Game Freak, Any Youtubers mentioned are their respected channels.  


Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan were recording for their channel, Game Grumps one day. They were playing a game, as Game Grumps normally do, and Ross, Barry, and Suzy were playing their own game, this time for fun. Matt and Ryan, who had their own channel, SuperMega, were over to edit videos, and were watching the news with Brian. Brian's young daughter, Audrey, was sitting along with them. It was a normal day, and actually a pretty good one. Arin and Dan were about to finish a series, for once, Matt and Ryan were getting pretty good at editing, and Audrey almost said her first word. Everything was fine and dandy until there was an interruption on the news. It had never been done before, but the President of the United States had used the Emergency Alert System to break news. The message before hand clearly stated that this was NOT a test. When the President came on, it appeared to be the Vice President, panicked, the President busy unpacking, this quite literally having been the first thing that happened.

"Um..." The Vice President, Bo Elyria, said over the speaker, before the outgoing, but not yet replaced Secretary of State took over.

"Hello America." The Secretary of State said to a now very scared nation. "First I would like to say that..."

Then an explosion was heard. While it was too quiet to be anywhere near the White House, the camera crew, along with anyone and anyone they could nab, was evacuated to the bunker. While they were running, the Secretary of State continued. "I'd like to say that anyone that can evacuate the states of Nevada, California, and Oregon should do so, and as soon as possible." He was then drowned out by yelling by the Secret Service for a while. One of them requested to turn off the camera.

"No!" The Secretary of State yelled. "We need to address the nation and neither of our leaders are fit to do so!"

The Secret Service agent that suggested that sighed. "I guess we can keep it on."

"Good!" The SoS said back to him. "Well anyways." He coughed once. "My fellow Americans. We are in a time of great challenge. Three of our glorious fifty states are under attack, from a force nobody seems to know what it is. I have a feeling that many of you may fall in the west. I want to promise that Washington will not fall. D.C. That is. Washington state is absolutely screwed." He said, interrupted by a louder explosion. Somebody KNEW that this was going to happen, and that somebody is taking action. "But we don't know how powerful this adversary is. I request to you Americans that cannot evacuate to fight as well as you can, and those that can keep evacuees to do so. We may have to extend this evacuation order, so stay tuned if at all possible. I shall keep in direct touch with you, America, so that I can relay information directly to you." He then heard a young girls cries for help. A single guard broke escort to see what it was.

Upon arrival, right at the end of the West Wing, that guard arrived to a few littered survivors. Mostly agents of the FBI and the Secret Service. Most were unconscious. "Who's there!" The single guard asked. The girl cried out again, and upon seeing her, he noticed that it was the First Daughter, barely seven years old. The guard heard a cry for "Daddy" in between the cries of pain, her right leg blown off in the explosion. The guard took off his shirt to tie off the wound, before hearing another voice. "He's dead Jim." Another guard said to him as he picked the young girl up. "We should get down to the bunker."

Just after, the Secretary of State had received the news, and that the VP was a mess, the Speaker of the House was missing, and that the President Pro Tempore was old and they needed someone that would probably be alive for a while, the Speaker was told he'd be Acting President for now. "Well... My fellow Americans, I'd express condolence for the death of our President but we've gotta get to the bunker." He said as started down the stairs to the bunker. He decided to compromise with the guards, and put the cap on the camera, but was still live.

"Sorry about that!" The SoS yelled. "We don't want whoever's doing this to find out how to get down here!"

The guard that had saved the First Daughter, not having to rush in a crowd, quickly caught up to the rest of them, the SoS, along with a few other Secretaries, being the ones of Defense, Interior, Labor, Energy, and Homeland Security, along with the Attorney General.

"Hi mom!" Yelled the Secretary of Homeland Security, having been appointed at a young age of 32. She was at the bottom of the presidential succession line anyways, so push turned to shove, age wouldn't matter.

"I swear to god." The Secretary of Labor commented. "Lisa Von Cullen. Stop saying hi to your mum every time you get on TV," This man was a citizen through naturalization, and was also ineligible for the presidency unless something really bad happened. His dream job was Health and Human Services, so he could install a NHS-like item in America, well suggest one anyways.

After a bit of an argument between the two, the Secretary of Energy, Alexander Imari, interrupted. "Stop arguing!" HE yelled right as they reached the bunker, as another explosion went off. The two dozen-odd guards, along with the 7 cabinet members, walked into the bunker, where they were met by the director of the FBI, who had given the First Son a tour of the bunker.

"Why are you here?" The First Son, Reggie Levils, said slowly.

"Same to you." Lisa replied.

"I was taking him on a tour." The Director, Johnathan Juniper, replied.

"There was an attack." The guard carrying the First Daughter said, the SoS taking his hand off of the camera. "The President is dead."

"The First Daughter isn't in very good shape either." The guard that saved her said. "I had grabbed her from earlier, and that one cut off the circulation.

The Director asked what the two guards names were, them saying Carson and Ben. They were swiftly promoted to a task force, and one designed to contact as many citizens as possible, to compile a database of statuses.

While some chatting was going on, the SoS stated that the people had about six hours to get out of the evacuation zone, before they'd condemn it as a crisis-caused wasteland, assuming everyone not in eyeshot is dead, heavily altered, or about to be either of the two, and if the little knowledge they had was right, quite possibly both. If they left now, that'd be enough to make it to Phoenix. They'd have 4 to make it to Yuma, though that's with normal traffic. Brian suggested that they pack enough supplies for a long while, giving that they weren't going to make it out in six hours. They took it to a vote. Brian, Suzy, Matt, and Ryan voted yes, while Ross, Arin, Dan, and Barry voted no. They had Audrey break the vote, who agreed with her Daddy. They were to be plenty prepared for this, maybe even sack what's left of the stores along the way, though on foot, as they'd need every drop of gas on the actual trip there. They distinctly heard that if need be, they'd sell Alaska to get the money to combat it. They were given some sort of gift from Japan to defend cities such as Yuma, Redding, Denver, Salt Lake City, and basically anything really close to the border or west of the Mississippi river.

* * *

**One hour later(5 hours until condemnation)...**

* * *

"I've got everything packed for two plus Audrey." Brian said. "Who's coming with?"

The Grumps were busy packing things. Suzy had finished packing the KittyKatGaming essentials, and some basic provisions. Brian picked her to tag along giving that he wanted out ASAP.

"Accodring to my math, giving we're in LA, people will be taking the I-10 to get to Arizona. That'll triple the time we have to get out. It might be quicker to take the I-5 to Seattle, or even Vancouver if we must." Brian said. He grabbed Audrey, his stuff, the radio with the emergency stations, and the stuff Suzy packed, along with Suzy's help.

* * *

**A half-hour later(4.5 hours left)**

* * *

Matt and Ryan had finished up.

"What are you two doing?" Matt asked.

"Just finishing up." Suzy said. "Wanna come with? Brian packed for two and I packed for myself."

"No." Brian said. "At least, not in the same vehicle.'

"We could form a convoy." Matt replied.

Brian sighed. "IF you want. We're heading all the way north though, so you may not want to."

Ryan decided to stick it out on his own, hopping in the vehicle they brought with both their provisions. Matt ran out, begging for Ryan to stick around.

"Please!" He cried out.

Ryan was silent. He started his car, and drove off. Had it been in normal traffic, he could have _just_ made it to Yuma. But everyone was going that way in LA, and a lot of other people went due west, spare the people of San Diego, who fled to Mexico. Matt began to cry. Suzy and Brian were going to wait to at least say goodbye to the rest of them.

* * *

**2 hours later(2.5 hours left)**

* * *

"We're done." The main grumps, Arin and Dan said.

"Get everyone met up." Brian demanded. "_Now."_

Dan sensed the urgency of the situation, calling Barry and Ross over.

"Ryan left." Brian said, Matt still barely holding himself together. There was a gasp from Barry.

"Without Matt?" Brian asked.

Matt slowly nodded. They overheard the newly coined "Seven Secretaries" chatting, saying that they can't guarantee many states, mainly the Midwest, and the South, minus Florida. They had recovered the Secretary of Agriculture as well, and despite the issues, things were looking up.

"Me, Suzy, and Matt are going north." Brian said.

"What?" Arin said. "Why?"

"We see that it'd be quicker than going through traffic." Brian said.

"Well I was going to go up to San Francisco and take the I-80 across." Dan said.

"Well then you and Arin can do that." Brian said.

"Well we could do that." Barry suggested, referring to him and Ross. "Arin and Dan could go south. Doesn't PBG live in Texas?"

"I think." Arin said. "Well he did anyways."

"He lives up north now." Dan commented. "Though he is visiting Houston now. Maybe, just _m__aybe_ you can catch him."

"How'd you know that?" Suzy asked.

"The internet." Dan said.

Suzy nodded slowly.

Brian returned to his idea. "So me, Audrey, Matt, and Suzy up north, and then west if necessary, Barry and Ross in the middle, taking the I-80, and Arin and Dan taking up the southern route, possibly meeting PBG vacationing in Houston is the plan?"

Suzy agreed, as did Matt. Barry and Ross weren't done, and were assigned to lock up the fort. Dan was done, but Arin was not. Audrey started crying for some reason, her hearing a scary noise.

"We'll leave now. Arin, Dan. You guys finish up, go west." Brian said. "Barry, Ross. Meet who you can in San Francisco, and then take the I-80 to safety. Preferably a major city. Actually if you can, go south on the I-15 to take the I-70. That'll take you through Denver, and worst-case scenario, cities like St. Louis, Columbus, and even Baltimore."

"Got it." Ross said. "Why are you leader again?" He asked.

"Because I can." Brian said. "Also, I was the first done.'

"And that means?" Ross asked again.

"Nothing really." Brian said. "Well good luck! Follow the plan!"

Brian gave time for Arin and Suzy to part ways, and then left. It had been four hours since the time-frame was announced.

Brian started up his vehicle, and began to drive off, leaving the four unable to finish packing by them to their own devices.

* * *

**An hour later(60 minutes left)**

* * *

"We're off." Arin and Dan said. "We've gotta get going. Best of luck to ya." Arin saluted the pair left behind, before walking out the door and leaving.

"Bye." Ross said.

"We're about done ourselves." Barry said.

'We should hurry."

* * *

**15 minutes later(45 minutes left)**

* * *

"Now." Barry said, locking the door behind them. "Off to the west."

'Off we go." Ross said, hopping in the large van they rented, driving off.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

* * *

"So have we figured out who did this?" The Labor Secretary said.

"I've got an announcement." The SoS said. "Lisa Von Cullen. You may be too young for the job, but I'd like you to be Acting President. We may as well have a female president before we go out."

"Really?" Lisa replied.

"You can't do that!" The Energy Secretary objected.

"Actually." The Agriculture Secretary said. "Congress is dead mostly, and can't hold session for now. Anything that the Acting President says, goes. You've got my command."

"And plus." The SoS commented. "IT's not like any of this is official until we get a judge down here."

"I guess you have a point." The SoE commented. "Fine. What's the plan."

"That database." Lisa replied.

"So who did this?" The Brit, the Labor Secretary, commented again.

"I think it was just rebels in the west, and an opportune terrorist strike on the capital." The Director commented. "I'm blaming the Arabs."

'Seems fine with me." Acting President Lisa commented. "That's a go-to place to blame."


	2. The Introduction

**POV: Team Brian(Brian, Suzy, Matt, Audrey[young])**

* * *

Just as Brian had predicted, everyone was taking the quick way out, leaving an almost empty northbound I-5. They had provisions for ten days for each of them, along with two more. This was along with the young Audrey's stuff, about a week's supplies. They weren't going to make it past the evac time, not by a long shot, but they'd make it. They'd make it to the next biggish city, Stockton, in about 5 hours, and had the gas to do so. Brian also packed a large amount of reserve fuel for an apocalypse run, giving gasoline would be a rarity. They'd grab what they could on the way, but no guarantees that there'd be any. As they were from Corona, the way to the I-5 was even easier, though they did see some signs of the disaster soon to come. There were people running from something, but the Grump Trio couldn't tell if it was just panic or if they were actually running from something.

"We should check that out." Suzy said.

"No." Brian said. "Best to stay in here unless we're going to be surrounded."

"Why not?" Matt said, the pair peering out the windows to see what it was. They saw a colorful thing in the distance, but with no discernability on it.

The trio waited to see what it was, giving they could drive off without any traffic. Brian turned the car off to save gas while they looked. The trio slowly came to the realization that that wasn't something that was supposed to exist, and Brian started the car.

Suzy yelped as the slimy thing, taking the form of a Pokemon, specifically an Emolga, jumped at the car. Brian sped off, pushing his van to its limits. After it was a bit farther away, it cried out for help. Matt requested we see what it needed, from a distance. It spoke little English.

"Need ride!" It yelled out.

"Should we?" Suzy asked. "It needs help!"

Brian sighed. They packed spare food for this exact reason. "If, and _only_ if It can follow orders."

Suzy yelled out to it, asking if it could follow orders.

It nodded, but the trio couldn't see it. "Think so. Never try." It said in its broken English.

The van backed up, and Brian got out, armed with a pistol, pointing to the slime. "This is just in case you can't follow orders and try and jump us. You did say 'never try'."

The Emolga sighed. She understood that though. "Okay..."

"Now you're going to hop in the trunk, and giving you seem rather gooey, and I'm not sure what you do to people, you're not to touch anyone. There should be a pet cage you can hang in for now, until I figure out what you are, and what I can do with you." Brian said, popping the cage open. The Emolga reluctantly hopped in the pet cage, though it was a cage for a big dog, so it wasn't cramped for the human-sized creature. Brian closed it up.

"We'll get you some food later. Just yip if you need anything." Suzy said, having also hopped out of the car earlier, and talking to them. Matt was still in there, keeping an eye on Aubrey.

"Okay!" The Emolga yelled. Brian had rendered a few things about this creature, like that is was fully grown, and was a female. She also wasn't feeling that well, a fact she wouldn't disclose to her new friend. She didn't feel that it was important enough to disclose.

"You guys ready?" Matt asked, seeing another car pass by. It wasn't Barry, as they had left to go another route. "I think following them would be a good idea."

Brian hopped in the car, as did Suzy. They were soon off, and off to look for the car that they had seen pass by.

* * *

**POV: Team Grump Official(Arin, Dan)**

* * *

"Hey Arin." Dan said, stuck in traffic. Just as Brian had predicted, the roads to the west were horrid.

"What's up Dan?" Arin responded.

"I think we should walk there." Dan said.

"Why?" Arin asked.

"I'm having a bad feeling..." Dan said, noticing a screech a little farther back, along with some gunfire. "There it is."

"People'll scatter.' Arin said. "I think anyways. Then we can just push out of the way."

There was some more fire, though it was coming from a few less places. Dan dug out whatever he had as armaments. There wasn't much, nothing more than a small 9mm pistol and a baseball bat.

He tossed the gun to Arin, Dan not being a good shot.

"Here's this." Dan said. "Use if needed, only if needed."

Something was rushing them. Well, not them in particular, probably whoever was at the front, taking who they could with them. Arin slowly opened the door, gun in hand, Dan followed. The pair tried to get a look at what was rushing the crowds. It was slimy, fast, and Dan made the likeness to Spiderman's Venom. It wasn't black though, it was grey, almost avian in nature. A Pokemon fan would render this as a Pidove, something the Grumps vaguely remembered from their Pokemon Sun play-through, but not too well.

"What is it?" Arin asked.

"Don't know." Dan said. "We shouldn't stick around to find out."

"It looks familiar." Arin said.

"How so?" Dan asked.

"I don't know..." Arin said, rather worried.

The Pidove had just finished investigating the vehicle three behind them, a blue SUV, when there was some scattering of vehicles in front of them. There was something in front of them, and they seemed to have closed the trap on Arin and Dan with the Pidove, whether intentionally or not. Then Dan came to a realization.

"Wait..." He said. "Wasn't Matt up there?"

"Well I think he was anyways." Arin said. "Why?"

"Because something happened somewhere up the road, but I don't know how far." Dan answered.

"Well we should probably focus on those thingies." Arin said, pointing the pistol out the window.

"Right." Dan decided to get out of the car, armed with his bat. Arin decided then to follow.

The Pidove seemed to have stopped, hearing a noise from farther back. The other one, a Glameow, decided to go at Arin and Dan anyways. Arin fired a shot towards the thing, but not at it, to scare it off. The Glameow did not seem to care about the gunfire, and went to see what the Pidove was investigating. The Glameow did point at them, then pointed at the ground beforehand though, implying that it wanted the pair to stay there.

"Should we follow them?" Arin asked.

"I think it wants us to stay.' Dan said. "And I don't know what it is."

"Yeah..." Arin said, turning to Dan. "But clearly there's something important there."

Dan sighed. 'Fine. We'll go."

Dan was going to tell Arin to go on his own, but he wanted them to stick together. Arin and Dan ran off, following the Glameow.

* * *

**POV: Team Others(Barry, Ross)**

* * *

"So." Barry said, at a corner that would allow them to get on the Interstate.

"Yeah?" Ross replied.

'We've essentially got everything from the grump house that the others didn't pack." Barry said. "That includes most of the cash."

"So?" Ross replied. He knew what they _could_ do with the money, but what was Barry going to suggest?

"We could buy some things off of people, and if they're over-prepared, we could recruit them." Barry said back.

"I guess you're right." Ross said back to that. "We could recruit plenty of people, or just buy some food.

"That's really the limiting factor." Barry said. "And we could take the side-streets out of town."

"But that'd be slow." Ross said.

"But we don't have the time even if we could push this to its limit." Barry replied. "We'd barely make it out of town with all this traffic."

"Well we could take the side streets like you said I guess then." Ross said back.

"We have the cash for trading though." Barry said. "We'll meet with whoever's left up north I guess."

Barry and Ross decided to drive up north, using the side-streets. Who knows what they'll find.


	3. The Meet-Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This will be the general use of translations."

**POV: Team Brian(Brian, Suzy, Matt, Audrey[young], ??? (Emolga))**

* * *

Brian had just drove off in search of the second vehicle. He drove rather swiftly, wanting to see what the convoy could offer. While he did that, Matt and Suzy chatted.

"What do you think we'll find?" Suzy asked.

Matt shrugged.

"There's probably somethings we could discuss with Brian." Suzy replied to herself.

"Like what?" Matt asked, still kinda said about Ryan ditching them so early.

"What to name that thingy back there." Suzy said.

The creature implied, appearing to be a humanoid Emolga, yipped at the mention of herself.

"What is it?" Suzy asked.

"Not." The Emolga said, not being very good at English.

"Not?" Suzy said.

"Yeah." The Emolga responded.

"Maybe it means nothing?" Matt said, shrugging.

The Emolga yipped again. Right as that happened, Brian noticed the car, now pulled over, on the road. They pulled over next to it. The occupants took arms in reaction to this, and went up to the vehicle.

"Who is it?" The first member of the convoy, a Caucasian female with brown hair, said. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, nothing special. She was armed with a semi-automatic pistol.

"State your business." The second member, an African-American male, who had black hair, said. He wasn't armed.

"I just wanted to see who it was." Brian said. "You heading north?"

"Why'd you ask?" The female convoy member asked. "You doing that?"

"Yes." Brian said. "And back to your first question. The name's Brian. The girl's Suzy, the other guy's Matt, and the young one is Audrey.

"Yours?" The male convoy member asked.

"Why yes." Brian said. "We also caught some creature that seemed keen on tagging along. Mind if you see what it is?"

The two called over another member of the convoy, a Caucasian male with blonde hair.

"They've got a thing for you to check out." The first male said.

"Really?" The second male said, with a distinct British accent. "What kind?"

"They don't know." The female said.

The trio walked around the vehicle the Grumps had, and opened the trunk.

"It's caged. I didn't want to chance anything." Brian said.

"Don't hurt it!" Suzy said.

The trio seemed shocked at what they had found.

"Y-Y-You..." The female said.

"They couldn't have..." The first male said.

The second male called out the rest of them, a female Asian with black hair and a ginger-haired tan-colored person.

"You tamed one?" The second male, the Brit, said.

"We found it like that." Suzy said.

"I said it could tag along if it followed orders. It said it never tried before." Brian said.

"Ah." The Asian female said. 'It may have been tamed when you found it."

"Or never had become untame in the first place." The African-American said. "It may have just been infected."

"Infected?" Brian asked. "With what?"

The convoy huddled up for a bit. Brian heard something about them not knowing something.

After discussing the thing for a bit, the convoy broke huddle, and was going to tell something to Brian's group.

"Okay." The Brit said to the small group before him. "I'm Colin McCarthy. I'm the leader of this convoy."

"Brian Wecht." Brian said. "Nice to meet you. Then you've got Suzy Hanson, Matt Watson, that creature, and the young one, Audrey."

"Ah." Colin replied. "The Asian goes by Michelle, the African American male is Greg, and the girl you first met is Alyssa."

'Nice to meet you four." Suzy said.

'Yeah!" The Emolga said to agree.

"So." Colin said. "You were smart enough to head up north."

"Yeah.' Brian said. "And?"

"Giving that we're both heading north, you want to join up for now?" Colin responded.

"Why sure." Brian said. "Safety in numbers I guess."

"Good." Colin replied. "How do you guys feel about that?"

Alyssa was hesitant, but the other two were fine with this.

"Well that's that" Colin said. "Welcome to the team."

"What's this team called?" Brian asked.

"The Crimson Convoy" Colin said. "We were united by our love of the original Fallout games."

"Really?" Brian said.

"Well actually." Greg said. "My favorite was New Vegas, but they've got something like that so it's okay."

Colin nodded. "We really needed the manpower, so we let him in."

"Yeah." Greg said. "They did need more people."

"Well it's nice joining you." Suzy said.

Emolga yipped happily.

"Guess your thing agrees." Michelle said, giggling a bit."

"Guess so." Matt said.

"So." Brian said. "Got anything to trade? Or any information on her?" He was referring to Emolga.

"Not really." Colin said. "All that we know is that they're mostly female, and if one gets you, it's zombie logic and you become one. Doesn't always match appearance though."

"Really?" Matt said.

"I've heard you can tame them and they'll be less drippy around it's friends." Colin replied.

"Intriguing." Brian said.

"Yup." Colin said. "Well you've got food, so there's really no need for trading, and also we're part of the same convoy now."

"Right." Brian said.

"Well." Colin said. "Back to the van!"

Brian said the same to his group.

"Good luck!" Michelle yelled as their vehicle drove off.

"You too!" Suzy yelled back as Brian did the same to theirs.

And off they went, to the north, and onward to safety.

* * *

**POV: Team Grump Official(Arin, Dan)**

* * *

Arin and Dan had rushed off to see what was going on, against the slimy thing that they met's wishes.

"Really!" Arin yelled. "Should we be doing this!"

"It's not like it's going to spare us in particular if we did!" Dan yelled back.

"I guess..." Arin said, a bit quieter.

'See!" Dan said. "Now let's see what they're doing."

"Okay." Arin said. It took them a little bit, say 10 minutes, but they got right to about where the slimy thing was going.

"Here we are." Dan said.

Arin seemed a bit worried. "Should we really be doing this?"

Dan nodded. "We're already here..."

"And there's the thing..." Arin said, pointing at the Glameow.

"We should probably whisper" Dan whispered to Arin.

"Probably." Arin whispered back.

The Glameow and the Pidove had cornered a woman, who seemed scared. Arin suggested that if him and Dan helped the duo, they'd be able to be spared. They pulled out their weapons.

"Hey!" Arin yelled. "We're here to help!"

The woman breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing who Arin meant.

"Sorry lady!" Dan said. "We meant those thingies about to get you! Anything to stay alive I guess!"

The Pidove and Glameow discussed this in their native tongue, as the woman sighed, as I guess they were right.

_"We'll let you guys tag along!" _The Pidove said. Giving that it was in their language, the Grumps could not understand it.

"So we in?" Dan asked. The Pidove gave a thumbs up.

"We're in." Arin said.

"Guess you were right." Dan replied.

The Glameow came up to them and waved, and began jotting some things down on a piece of paper. They couldn't speak, but Glameow could write things.

"What's she doing?" Arin asked.

'Looks like she's gonna tell us something." Dan said.

The duo waited for Glameow to be done writing.

"How long is this going to take?" Arin asked.

The Glameow was soon done writing. Arin picked up the note.

"What's it say?" Dan asked.

"It says that giving we're humans, we'll want to head out west. They're finished up their share of the highway, and thus can escort us fairly easily." Arin replied.

Glameow nodded.

"It also says that they'd love to be pets once they're done infecting people." Arin said.

"Infecting people?" Dan asked.

"Must be carriers." Arin said.

"May I ask what you're infecting people with?" Dan asked Glameow.

Glameow shook her head.

"Okay." Dan said.

"Well off we go I guess?" Arin said.

Pidove nodded, and Glameow began to write again.

Arin picked up the note after it was done. It said "Off we go!", and the quarter was then off.

* * *

**POV: Team Others(Barry, Ross)**

* * *

Barry and Ross were driving down the side-streets, looking for littered survivors. They had taken the vehicle left over given the other Grumps had already left. They went down the roads, combing for anything or anyone. All they found was packs of weird humanoid creatures.

"Hold on..." Barry said. "Are those Pokemon?"

'I mean..." Ross said back. "Maybe?"

"They kinda look like it." Barry said.

"Yet they're human-like..." Ross replied.

'Wait!" Ross said, pointing to what appeared to be a husband and wife. "There's a pair!"

"Yeah..." Barry said, the vehicle pulling over, him rolling down the window. "Hey!" He yelled, signalling the two.

"Don't draw attention!" The husband said. "We're trying to get inside."

"You live here?" Barry asked.

"No.' The wife said. "It's just that the person who lives here hasn't left and is gathering survivors. We had just gone and gotten food."

"Ah." Barry said. "Well mind if we come in?"

"Guess so." The husband said. "Whether you can stay or not is up to the person who lives there though."

"Why?" Ross asked.

"You might be smuggling a slime." The wife said. "We barely got in with ours."

"And how'd you do that?" Barry asked.

"I'll have the person who lives here tell you. Best to find out when you're inside." The wife said.

The husband and wife handed some stuff for Barry and Ross to carry, and the quartet went inside. The man living there, appearing to be an elderly prepper, was pale-skinned and was wearing a tin-foil hat. There was a whimper-like cry heard through the vents.

"Welcome." The man said. "To the adobe."

"Thank you." Barry said. "We were looking for survivors to trade with or recruit."

"Those two want to make it back home." The elderly man said. "And you can take their daughter with them. We've got plenty of people, and she won't stop balling."

"May I ask why she's crying?" Barry replied. "And what that has to do with the so-called 'slime' these two 'smuggled in'"

"Ah yes." The elderly man said. "You want to know about the slimes."

"Yeah." Barry said.

"Are you ready to know these secrets?" The elderly man said. "The truth hurts."

"We'll brace for it." Barry said.

"If you insist.' The elderly man said. "These 'slimes'... They were a government creation. They saw that if they could make real Pokemon, the money they'd make selling them off to Nintendo would be enough to pay off the debt."

"Really?" Ross said, unsure of whether to believe this man in a tinfoil hat.

'Yes." The tinfoil hatted man said. "They broke out, and transformed the scientists into one of them, and went at the west coast."

"How?" Barry asked.

'By using their slime." The man replied. "They can spread it to alter the form. It's sticky when it wants to be."

"And is that how the slime those two mentioned," Barry said, in reference to the one the couple brought in. "Transformed?"

"Yes." The old man replied. "Poor thing... Also got genderbent."

"Can we go see her?" Ross asked.

"Sure." The elderly man said. "I do want her out of here, so tagging along would help."

"Ah." Ross said. "Good to know."

"Where is she?" Barry asked.

"Up those steps." The elderly man said. "Take a left, last room on the right."

As Barry and Ross started up the stairs, the old man had one last thing to say.

"I'm Bernie by the way." He said. "Tell her I sent you."

"Okay." Barry said, walking up the stairs. Ross followed him.

The walked down the hallway to the left, and found a bathroom. Ross had to go, so Barry decided to take the endeavor on his own, knocking on the door that was said to be the room by Bernie.

"W-what is it now!" The previously mentioned slime asked.

"I wanted to meet you." Barry replied. "Bernie sent me. And someone else, but they're in the bathroom right now."

Barry heard a walking noise, and the slime peeped through the peephole.

"You l-look familiar." The slime said back.

"Why?" Barry asked.

"I don't k-know..." The slime replied.

"Well mind if I take a look at you?" Barry asked. "Because if you opened that door you'd have a better seeing of me, and maybe you could tell who I was."

"R-right..." The slime said, cracking open the door. "What did Bernie tell you by the way?"

"That you transformed, the secrets and all that." Barry said. "Also that you were genderbent."

"Okay." The slime replied. "So I won't spook you?"

"As far as I know." Barry said. "No."

The slime opened the door a little farther, revealing something Barry wasn't quite expecting, but something he saw as within reason.

"You're one of those things huh?" Barry said.

"Yeah..." The slime said, awkwardly rubbing her arm. "I get to be a Sylveon."

"Well at least you're one of the cute fluffy ones." Barry said.

"I guess so..." The Sylveon said back.

"You got a name?" Barry asked.

"Quite honestly." The Sylveon said. "The transformation messed up my mind, and I don't really remember. Bernie calls me Sylv or Sylvie when not referring to me as 'the slime upstairs."

"Well I'm Barry." Barry said.

"Barry..." Sylv said. "That's a name I remember... Why though..."

Barry shrugged, slowly. "Maybe you knew me previously?" He was internet famous after all.

"Well you seem nice anyways." Sylv responded. "Probably was nice to know ya."

"Thanks." Barry said back, as Ross came out of the bathroom. "May I ask what happened?"

"Not right now..." Sylv said back.

Ross had walked up. "This that slime Bernie was talking about?"

"Yes." Barry said. "Ross, this is Sylv. Sylv, this is Ross. The slime here also goes by Sylvie."

"Well nice to meet you then." Ross said.

"Same here I guess...' Sylv said back, sighing. "Why does everyone seem so familiar?" She said to herself.

"Transformation take a toll on you?" Ross asked.

"Yeah..." Sylv said. "Though on the bright side, I'm now multilingual!"

"How?" Barry asked.

"Well I speak English, obviously." Sylv said. "And now I speak whatever language Pokemon speak, and for some odd reason, perfect Russian!"

"Russian huh?" Barry said.

_"Isn't it cool?" _Sylv said in Russian.

"Well you know neither of us understand Russian." Ross commented.

"Oh right." Sylv said. "I said 'Isn't it cool?'"

"I guess so." Brian said.

Ross shrugged.

"It really isn't that useful right now though...' Sylv said. From the looks of it though, she was improving a bit, as her tail perked up, previously drooping.

"Mind if we come in?" Barry asked.

"No." Sylv said. "A slime's viscosity is tied to it's emotion, and giving that I'm out of it a bit, I'm all drippy."

"Yeah." Ross said. "I see that."

"It also doesn't help that I'm a new slime anyways." Sylv said back.

"Hm." Barry said. "That's something to know. So how come you're still human in nature but those ones outside seemed feral?"

"Luck of the draw I guess." Sylv said back.

"Ah." Ross said. "Well I'm gonna go down and see what Bernie has to offer. Maybe see if we can found a country out of the ashes of this area."

"Really?" Sylv said. "It's time already?"

"Just about." Ross said.

"Wow." Sylv said.

"So how long you been like that?" Ross asked. "May as well ask before I go."

"About 10 days." Sylv said. "I was one of the first infected..."

"Ah." Barry said. "Not sure whether to be sorry for you or not. Though maybe that's why you're not feral?"

"Possibly." Sylv said. "That could be it."

They'd ask Ross, but he had already gone downstairs.

"So is there anything you really want besides turning back?" Barry said.

"Actually..." Sylv said. "Once I solidify a bit, it won't be that bad!"

"Really?" Barry said.

"I mean, I'm stuck up here for another two weeks at least, then after that, as long as I'm peppy enough, I should not drip." Sylv said back.

"Well that's good." Barry said.

"Yeah." Sylv said. "I'd invite you to play a game with me, but I don't want to transform you so..."

"Why not one of those smartphone games?" Barry asked.

"Right!" Sylv said, a bit more excited. 'What'd ya got?"

* * *

* * *

**Meanwhile in the secret presidential bunker...**

* * *

"I've gotta do it now." The Acting President, Still being Lisa, said, talking about kicking the three states out of the union. "We've got 5 territories. We're bound to be able to get back up to 50."

"Mr. Director Juniper." The First Son, Reggie said. "Can we have new outcropping nations?"

"What do you mean?" The Director said.

"Like anyone who can afford to hand a diplomat to here can get recognition of whatever's left, assuming there's still contact." Reggie said.

"Sure." Lisa said. "Why not? Alex." She said in reference of the SoE. "Ask the territories if they want statehood."

"On it?" He said back, unsure of why, but not wanting to ask.

"We're actually doing pretty well here." The Agriculture Secretary said.

"Yeah!" Lisa yelled. "So let's do this!"


	4. The Recruitment

**POV: Crimson Convoy(Colin, Michelle, Greg, Alyssa, Brian, Suzy, Matt, Audrey[young], ?.? (Emolga))**

* * *

Brian's crew had just joined the Crimson Convoy, since both had intentions of heading north.

They were just arriving at the town of Santa Clarita. At about 200,000 people, it was one of the biggest in the area, and in the top 25 in what was the state of California, as the decision to kick the three quarantined states out of the union in favor of overseas territories was something what was left of the U.S government wanted to do.

"Well." Colin said to his teammates. "Think we should go big or try and keep a small crowd? Also, get some two-way or CB radios for Barry and his crew so we can communicate."

"Yes to both of those." Alyssa said.

"I say big." Greg said. "You already let in me, and I liked New Vegas anyways."

Michelle nodded to that.

"So should we stop here?" Colin asked.

"Sure! We should discuss with our new group." Alyssa said.

The car pulled over, and Brian's car followed.

"Why here?" Brian yelled asking, having rolled down his window.

"Well." Colin said. "We gotta have contact on the move, so we need communication devices. Two-way or CB radio preferably."

"Also." Alyssa said. "We gotta search the city."

"Why?" Suzy asked. "We've got supplies."

"But we lack manpower." Colin said. "We should find survivors."

"Guess so." Suzy said. "Split up?"

Colin shook his head no. "I'd rather not get us picked off one by one,"

"Fine." Matt said.

Barry dug out his two-way radio, having kept it for later purposes. "Will this do?"

"Yeah." Colin said. "Thanks."

"Now off we go." Colin said, driving off first.

"Guess we could test this." Brian said.

"Yeah. That." Emolga said.

Brian tested the radio, and it worked!

"You read me?" Brian said, testing to see if the communication worked.

"Yeah." Colin said. "These work pretty good."

"Thanks." Brian said. "So where to first?"

"Let's go down the main street." Colin said. "Check businesses for loot."

"Okay.' Brian said, following Colin.

"Onwards." Colin said, as he drove to the main street of the town.

"We'll leave via the Route 126 exit." Colin said via the two-way radio.

"Got it." Brian said. "So how many do we have room if they don't have a vehicle?"

"Three here." Michelle said.

"Two for us." Suzy said. "Maybe another one of those things too."

"Okay." Colin said.

The group drove up Sierra Highway, and got onto Newhall avenue, to stock up on gas, as there was a gas station there. A Chevron station to be exact. They found plentiful cars, lined up. They ignored it in favor of a much less busy due to it being up the road Shell station. That's not to say the lines weren't long, but they both managed to fill up and fill 1 of the Crimson Convoy's 5 gallon gas tanks before being forced to go.

Eventually, they turned down Race Street, and found a residential zone.

Colin noticed as they passed the 24000s in addresses that a middle-aged man was fighting a younger slime. He had appeared to be on top of his truck.

"Hey!" Colin yelled as he rolled down his window. 'Need a lift?"

"A lift?!" The man yelled. "If this thing wasn't blocking me from getting off my truck here!"

"I'll help." Michelle said, jumping out of the Convoy's van. Door still open, she baited the slime over with some laughing. "Can't get me!"

The slime growled, and dashed towards Michelle. She closed the door in time, giving the man the precious few moments to get in his vehicle.

"There you go! Follow us!" Colin said, quickly pulling up his window. The three vehicles drove off, as there were better times to introduce themselves.

They combed through the rest of the residential block that they had found, but eventually found one more group of survivors. This was on Pine Street, right by the corner of Market Set Street and near that, Railroad Avenue. It was a group of eight or nine, all armed. They were in hot pursuit by a few slimes, but it was unknown whether it was one that turned many or a group ambush.

"Help!" The farthest person ahead yelled. Barry decided to stop, radioing to Colin. "Should we?"

"If you want." Colin said. "Good luck."

Brian waved down the now counted 7, the straggler being jumped by a little baby Pichu.

"Yo!" The one second to back said, an African American male. "Wanna help!"

Brian fired a shot, distracting the slimes.

"Thanks!" The third one said as the farthest back was infected, that not being helped by the distraction shot.

"Got a vehicle?" Suzy asked.

"No." The front person said.

"Then we've only got room for two." Suzy said.

The front person, identified as a White female, tripped the male behind him, leaving 5 left, Suzy popped open the door.

"Whoever wants in gets it!" Suzy yelled, as Brian turned down Market Street, then Railroad Avenue.

The slimes, having recovered, jumped the tracks, and rushed at the remaining 5.

The groups went further up the road, as the middle person was jumped. The African-American, now at the back, avoided the slimes by jumping a small wall in between the two automotive dealerships near the intersection. This also allowed him to catch up, taking a dive at the vehicle as it turned the corner onto Lyons Avenue and began to speed up.

"And who are you?" Suzy asked.

"Jump in back." Brian said.

The new guy complied. "The name's Tyrone." He laughed a bit out of the nose. "To think, this is the third group I've followed today. At least you guys got a car."

Suzy smiled.

Brian radioed to Colin. "We picked up one of those people in that group. Colin, this is Tyrone."

"Nice to meet you." Colin said. "Welcome to the team."

"Thanks." Tyrone said.

"You're welcome." Colin replied.

The other 4 began to disband, the white girl hiding in the nearby deli, and a duo, a husband and wife, both French tourists, kept running. The fourth, having tripped on a rock, was jumped by the slimes.

Brian slowed down, in an attempt to catch at least one of them. The wife while running, began to converse in French with her husband.

_"I think I can get there!"_ The wife said.

_"Then go."_ The husband said. _"Better one than none I guess..."_

_"I can't just leave you!"_ The wife said.

_"And I don't want to see us both go for a little thing called love." _The husband replied.

_"But honey!"_ The wife yelled.

_"__I love you and that's why I'm doing that__.__"_ The husband said.

The wife dashed ahead, hoping at least she could get in. _"I love you!"_

_"I love you too."_ The husband said.

"Open trunk!" The Emolga yelled.

"Wait hold on." Tyrone said. "You've got one of those things in here?"

"Yeah. She's tame." Suzy said.

Tyrone was too shocked to say anything.

"Why?" Suzy asked Emolga.

"Trust me!" Emolga yelled back.

Brian popped open the trunk, right as the wife got past, and got in. Emolga just managed to slip through the bars, and got out, making sure that _she_ was the one to transform the husband. After that, the Emolga picked up the transforming Frenchman, and noticed that while she could barely squeeze through, the Frenchman could not.

"Stop!" Emolga yelled.

"What now?" Suzy asked.

"Can't in!" Emolga said back.

Brian cut through a parking lot, and stopped right before Chestnut Street, making sure he was safely hidden behind the dance studio. Suzy hopped out to open the cage, and noticed the other slime.

"Who is this?" Suzy said.

"Just formed!" Emolga yelled. "Is friend."

"Really?" Suzy said. "You remembered somebody?"

Emolga nodded, this was of course, a lie, but maybe when her English was a little better she could explain.

"Good for you!" Suzy said. "I'd hug you, but, you know."

Emolga nodded again. Suzy popped open the cage, and let the two in.

"So who are you?" Matt asked.

_"I'm __Mariette." _The wife said.

"Do you speak English." Brian asked.

_"No."_ Mariette replied.

"If I'm remembering high school French right." Tyrone said. "She said no."

"Well we should probably go." Brian said.

"Agreed." Suzy said. "We've rescued the ones we can."

"I'll third that." Matt said.

"Guess that's a majority of the English speaking people." Tyrone said.

And off they drove, and eventually caught up to Colin.

"Hey!" Brian yelled, having rolled down his window.

"Oh hello." Colin said.

"Yeah hi!" Alyssa said.

"So what's the deal now?" Greg said.

"We saved two people, and Emolga got a slime buddy that was one of her friends as a human!" Suzy yelled.

"Okay." Colin yelled. "Though I don't like too much you've got two of those things."

"Yeah, but Emolga will keep it in check!" Suzy yelled.

"Fine I guess." Colin said.

And off they drove.

* * *

**POV: Team Grump Official(Arin, Dan, Pidove, Glameow)**

* * *

Arin and Dan had joined the two slimes, one of them being able to write, and the four were going to cross the abandoned cars and feral slimes to get there.

"So you're not infecting us?" Dan asked.

Glameow shook her head no.

"Are you just sparing us?" Arin asked.

Pidove nodded, Glameow shrugged.

"Wouldn't it be easier to take our car and go the wrong way?" Dan said. "The laws don't apply anymore from my math."

Glameow gasped. _"They did have a car...__" _She said in her native tongue. She began to write again.

After she was done, another 5 minutes, Arin read the note aloud.

"Yeah." Arin said. "You're right. Find it if you can."

After about another 5 minutes, they found the Grump's car.

"There it is." Dan said.

Arin got in the car and started it up, inviting Dan in the front and the slimes in the back.

"That good?" Arin asked the slimes, Glameow again writing something down.

The note said that it was.

"Buckle up?" Arin asked.

Glameow nodded, doing so. She then proceeded to help Pidove.

"There we go." Dan said. "Nice of you to help your friend like that."

Glameow smiled.

Dan and Arin drove off, Dan deciding to ask a few yes or no questions.

"You from around here?" Dan asked. Glameow shook her head no, but Pidove nodded.

"You two friends originally?" Dan asked. The pair shook their heads no.

"So you haven't known each other long?" Dan asked. They nodded.

"Ah." Dan said. "Arin, you got any questions? Yes or no only."

"Sure." Arin said. "You have other friends?" Glameow shrugged, and began to write. Pidove shook her head no.

Glameow wrote, asking if Arin and Dan counted.

"Hey." Dan said. "That's sweet of ya."

Glameow smiled.

"But we're not sure yet." Arin said. "You can count us, but it isn't quite mutual yet giving we just met."

Glameow seemed a bit saddened by this, but nodded to thank them for the gesture.

Arin and Dan continued to drive down the highway, undeterred by what was happening around them.

Now driving at full tilt, Arin and Dan made great progress, but so did their slimy adversaries. Who knows how far ahead they were. Best to keep driving until they get to the next big city, Phoenix. They could make it on the fuel, even at full tilt, as at normal speeds their gas tank was at 350 miles just about full.

They worked their way through Riverside, and found nothing.

Nothing came of Moreno Valley either. The slimes had closed the gap by now.

Beaumont, Banning, Cabazon, and Whitewater looked about the same.

Indio, on the other hand, seemed like a place the slimes hadn't got to yet, or didn't do very well in. They noticed when passing by the thing, right about at the exit, another moving vehicle.

"Should we check that out?" Dan asked.

"Well we should at least outnumber the..." Arin paused to think of what they are. "Things..."

"No offense anyways." Dan said. "We just don't know what you are."

Glameow nodded.

With that out of the way, they decided to exit, now on Indio Boulevard.

After a turn down Jefferson Street, they found the vehicle at a looted CVS, and a woman getting out. She had three kids with her, all rather young, the eldest looking about 8.

Arin and Dan, along with the two slimes, pulled into the place. Arin and Dan got out, instructing the slimes to stay in.

"Hey!" Dan said. "Need any help? We got escort."

"Escort?" The woman asked. "What kind?"

"We're sorta famous, and thus the thingies of the area have spared us." Dan said.

"And how are you such famous?" The woman asked.

"Me, along with him over there." Dan said, pointing to Arin. "Are the Game Grumps."

"I've heard of them." The woman said. "But there is no way you are JonTron."

"Actually." Arin said. "Jon left kinda early. This is Dan, his replacement. He was actually supposed to get his own show with Ross."

"You're..." The woman said. "Egoraptor..."

"Yup." Arin said.

"Well I'd love to follow you guys. But the escort?" The woman said.

"They're fine. The one can write too." Dan said.

"Well what do you think kids?" The woman replied to her three kids.

"Okay!" The eldest said.

The middle child was scared, and the youngest too young to have a general opinion on the matter.

"Well then that's a yes." The woman said.

"But take your own vehicle." Arin said. "That'll be for the best."

The woman seemed fine with that. "You guys need anything?"

"We're packed fine for now. You?" Dan said.

"Well I guess I can go in if you watch the kids." The woman said.

Arin seemed fine with that.

"Yeah, that's fine." Dan said.

"Well okay!" The woman said. "Be right back!"

The woman said goodbye to her kids, and ran inside.

* * *

**POV: Team Others(Barry, Ross)**

* * *

Barry, having just met Sylv, a slime that had appeared to stay completely human in personality, went downstairs, to see what Ross and Bernie were up to.

"Sure you don't want to come down?" Barry asked Sylv at the top of the stairs.

"I'm fine!" Sylv yelled. "Don't want slime everywhere!"

'Right." Barry said, going down the stairs.

Ross and Bernie were already chatting, seeing what the ones could offer.

"Find replacements." Bernie said. 'And I'll let you have the husband and wife, and their slime. But not the slime. She can make things sometimes into slimes, so she's got a few that rather don't like her for creating them. They'll stay here, and she can go."

"Ah." Ross said, discussing the terms to Barry.

"Why not?" Barry said. "We could use the recruits."

Ross reluctantly agreed.

"By the way." Bernie said, his NY accent showing. "That slime's gotta good sniffer. You could use her."

"Okay." Barry said. "Can you call her?"

"Yo Sylv!" Bernie yelled up the flight of stairs. "You gotta go on patrol!"

"Again?" Sylv asked.

"Yeah again!" Bernie yelled back.

"Fine...' Sylv said. 'Who ya sacrificing?"

"The new ones!" Bernie yelled. Sylv hopped down the stairs, making extra sure not to leave any slime.

"Barry and Ross?" Sylv said. "Well I guess I could tag along..."

"Sacrificing?" Barry asked.

"Yeah." Sylv said. "Slimes are everywhere!"

"Ah." Ross said. "Well we've got our car..."

"And what happens if the gas runs out?" Sylv asked.

"It won't be that bad. We've got like three-quarters of a tank. The area isn't that big, is it?"

"Probably not...' Sylv said. "Maybe 100 miles of searching?"

"That should be good." Barry said. "Even accounting for stopping."

Sylv sighed. "Fine... I'm not actually solid, so if the trunk's available..."

"It's kinda full..." Ross said.

"It's fine though." Sylv said. "Unless it's absolutely packed. I've been a slime long enough to be slime all the way down."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked.

"You don't know?" Sylv said. "Well that's part of the transformation. The slime covers you, and then your insides kinda melt." Barry could tell she didn't like saying that, probably because that spawns the memories of her own experience. If you can't get an antidote in about 18 hours, it's pointless due the absorption of the flesh and you wouldn't have skin."

"What." Ross said.

"Yeah..." Sylv said, an audible sigh in her voice.

"And that's already finished up with you?" Ross asked. "Didn't this just start?"

"Didn't I tell you I was patient like one or something? The first half of the uncontrollably contagious part is melting down, the other half is learning to stay solid." Sylv said.

"Good to know." Ross said. "And I think you did."

"So how long should we be out there?" Barry asked.

"36 miles will cover all the major roads." Sylv said. "About a hundred or two for the rest. I can get you refills, as there happens to be a Chevron within the range, and a Valero, a 76, and another Chevron right down the I-5."

"So." Bernie said. "You guys ready for what's probably the greatest challenge in your life?"

"Guess so." Ross said.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Barry said.

"Good." Bernie said. "You know your way back, right Sylv?"

"Yeah." Sylv said.

"Also good." Bernie said. "You also know to come back alone if they get transformed? So don't get attached."

"Didn't know that one, but yes. I'll comply." Sylv said. Barry and Ross got a bit worried there, but Sylv said everything would be fine, even though that may not be true.

"Well goodbye." Bernie said.

And off Barry, Ross, and Sylv went, off to patrol the area, and find some survivors for Bernie and his small new state.


	5. The Stopping Point

**POV: Crimson Convoy(Colin, Michelle, Greg, Alyssa, Brian, Suzy, Matt, Audrey[young], Emolga, Tyrone, Mariette, ?,?(Emolga's "friend"), George)**

* * *

Having just rescued a French woman and an African-American man, Barry had just met up with the rest of the Crimson Convoy, and decided to drive off.

"Wait." Brian said.

"What is it now?" Colin asked.

"We never did ask about that guy in the truck we rescued." Brian said.

They stopped for a moment, the extra male introducing himself as George. George said that he had room for three more in his truck, not including the bed, but lacked supplies.

"Well that's fine. We've got plenty for a short trip like this." Colin said.

"Well off we go then?" Brian asked.

Colin nodded, going off again, but saying this beforehand. "Let's go now."

Brian drove off, soon followed by George.

* * *

_5 minutes later..._

* * *

Having drove down Lyons Avenue, towards the Interstate, Barry had encountered a Police vehicle, Brian stopped to say hello, hopping out.

"Go if you need to." Brian said to Matt and Tyrone, currently in the front.

Tyrone nodded.

"Hello officer." Brian said to the officer, who was hiding.

The officer peaked her head. "Hello?"

"You need any help?" Brian said, offering his hand.

The officer was held in disbelief. "There's somebody out there?"

Brian seemed a bit annoyed, but kept at it. "Yes. I'm here to help if you want."

They peeked their head out from the area they were hiding in, noticing Brian. "Oh hello..."

"Hello." Brian said. "Would you like to tag along with us?"

"Oh sure!" The officer said. It became clear this was a female officer. She got out of the police vehicle, uneasily pointing her gun down the road, as the slimes were kinda everywhere at this point.

"Get in with George." Brian said. "He's in the truck there."

The officer complied. "Wait! What's your name?"

"Brian." Brian said.

"I'm Lizzy." The officer replied. "I was on patrol when this started..."

"Well that's fine." Brian said. "We'll just head up north, try out Seattle."

Lizzy replied in approval. 'I'd ask about what you are doing, but you've already said. "

"Onward then?" Brian asked.

Lizzy nodded, her vehicle still working, the fourth vehicle joining the small motorcade.

Brian looked at the time. It was already late afternoon, or early evening, and they weren't even out of town yet.

"Should we get going?" He radioed over to Colin. "It'll be dark by the time we get out of here."

Colin agreed. "North again?"

"We're taking the Five." Brian said.

"Let's go." Greg suggested. "Those things do look kinda close now..."

Brian agreed, gesturing to turn north.

* * *

_about 2 hours later..._

* * *

"It's getting dark." Suzy commented.

"Yeah..." Matt commented.

"Well the road's empty." Colin radioed over. "Not like we'll hit anything."

"Those creatures." Michelle commented.

"Maybe..." Colin replied.

"We could go off at that exit." Brian commented.

"Yeah." Colin replied.

The next exit they ran into had a makeshift border checkpoint. A man was standing there.

"Welcome to Lost Hills." The man said. "This is the westerly fort."

"I wouldn't call it a fort myself, but..." Michelle commented.

"We're working on it." The man said. "Anyways. What brings you here."

"We were looking for a place to camp out for the night." Colin said.

"What's that in the back?" The man said, talking about Emolga.

"The slimes?" Colin said. "They're tame. Pets too."

"And the others?" The man said.

"They're with us." Colin said. "Just humans there."

"Well fine." The man said. "You can come and stay in the inn, then the leader will probably want to see you."

The convoy complied, being guided to a Motel 6 in the process of being converted to a check-in for the fort. This fort was the most fortified of the four forts guarding the town, having come right off the interstate with truck stops and restaurants. They had a good night for what would eventually come, and would be ready to meet with leadership tomorrow.

* * *

**POV: Team Grump Official(Arin, Dan, Pidove, Glameow)**

* * *

Arin and Dan were just tasked with watching three kids, as their mother went into the CVS nearby to get supplies. The CVS wasn't looted, but wasn't swarmed either.

"Hello Mister Grump." The eldest said.

"Hello." Arin said. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Liam!" The child said.

"Well I'm Arin." Arin said. "Nice to meet you."

The middle child looked around, and the youngest kinda just wandered off. Dan was tasked to keep that one from going away.

The Glameow knocked on the window, having wrote something down. Dan picked up the youngest, and walked over there. That youngest child, however, was being rather fussy.

"What now?" Dan asked. Glameow rolled down the window, and stuck the paper through the open bit.

"Arin!" Dan yelled.

"What?" Arin replied.

"The cat one says she wants to come out!" Dan said.

"Well I wasn't exactly comfortable with taking them along!" Arin said. 'They're only guides, and I don't think things are going to go well if they get someone infected!"

Pidove nodded, having saw Arin's point.

Glameow, on the other hand, seemed persistent, meowing.

Arin sighed. "I'm gonna go in." Arin walked in, Liam following.

"I'm gonna come too!" Liam yelled.

Arin seemed fine. Two was better than one I guess.

"So uh..." Dan said to Glameow after Arin went in. "Should we let you out now that Arin's not here?"

Pidove objected to this, liking Arin more than Dan.

Glameow hopped out, and walked around a bit. Dan made sure the kid didn't touch anything, as Arin would flip if anything happened.

"Don't touch anything, okay?" Dan asked.

Glameow nodded, resisting the urge to hug Dan.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

* * *

Arin and Liam walked into the CVS, first looking around to see if there were any slimes, after that looking for the mother. The only signs of life they saw upon first glance was a pair of adolescent Eevees trying their best to keep the store running.

"Sh..." Arin said, trying to sneak past the pair.

Liam tried to sneak, but it did not go so well, the Eevees noticed, springing up in a panic due to the customers. They were both females, as slimes generally were.

"_Oh I am so sorry..."_ The first Eevee, a shorter, almost fluffier species, that seemed to have been exposed a little longer, not that Arin would know anything about this progression. She seemed the slightest bit upset about something, but didn't let off why. She was even wearing a bit of employee uniform, and she was quite happy about this.

_"Y-y-yeah!"_ The other Eevee, a taller, bustier, and quite drippy species, that seemed to be recently transformed, again, not like Arin would know this.

_"Want to buy anything?"_ The first Eevee asked.

Arin was very scared. "Woah woah woah!" He quickly grabbed something to use as a makeshift weapon, grabbing a lipstick.

_"Hey hey hey!" _The first Eevee said, rather scared herself. _"Just trying to be a shopkeep..."_

Liam seemed more interested in dealing with the two, walking up to say hi.

The second eevee seemed scared of the human contact, and the first eevee went to man the check-out.

_"Oh hi!"_ The Eevee asked. _"What do you want little guy?"_

Liam didn't understand the Eevee, but asked what it was anyways.

_"Oh um..."_ The Eevee said. _"I'm not exactly sure..."_

Liam looked at the Eevee, trying to identify it.

Arin seemed a bit less scared of the pair now, coming out from the somewhat hiding, but still armed with the lipstick.

"You're one of those things..." Arin noted.

The Eevee sighed. It didn't like being one of those things too much.

"What's wrong?" Arin asked, still keeping his distance.

It pointed its index 'finger' to its goopier counterpart.

"That?" Arin asked. The Eevee nodded.

"Huh." Arin said, setting the lipstick down, realizing that it was pretty useless anyways. "So you operate this?"

The Eevee nodded again.

"So I can buy stuff?" Arin asked. The Eevee nodded, more excitedly than the previous two times.

"Well fine then." Arin said, proceeding to peruse the halls for items that he and Dan could use on their adventure. Most of what was there when the abandonment happened was still there, and besides the automatic doors, this could serve as a well enough holdout for a few days. The power was still on, but who knows how long that would last.

Arin soon came back, with a plethora of snacks and water. The Eevee was quite happy to see him.

"So um..." Arin said. "Are you charging for these?"

The Eevee nodded, but pointed the crudely handwritten sign pointing out a sort of going out of business sale, a large discount going towards items.

Arin paid for the items anyways, and headed on his way, but not before the Eevee barked to get him to stop. Arin wondered what the creature wanted, who was chatting with it's colleague.

_"You sure you want to do this?" _The slimier one said.

_"Yeah! I want to see the world!" _The first Eevee replied. _"And plus, you've got this! Make a... Whatever we are society!"_

The slimier of the Eevees nodded. _"But him?"_

_"He's got a kid! Maybe when I stop dripping I can play with them!"_ The first Eevee said.

_"I guess..."_ The second Eevee said.

The first Eevee gave her slimier partner a hug. _"I'm gonna miss you. Hope I hear from you!"_ She said as she exited the clerk stand to go up to Arin. This gave Arin quite a shock.

"Hey..." Arin said, a bit scared. "What are you doing?.."

The Eevee barked happily, trying to gesture that she was coming with.

Arin decided to go, the Eevee following.

When Arin came out, he noticed Dan parked right outside.

"Dan?" Arin said.

"Yeah..." Dan said. "Stuff kinda went down while you were in there."

"Hm." Arin said.

"We should probably be getting going." Dan said. "Got a new friend?" He asked.

Arin took a moment to realize Dan meant the Eevee. "I guess?" Arin said, unsure.

Arin and Liam got in, Liam taking advantage of the sixth seat that was in the vehicle, along with the convenient car seat that Dan had mustered up.

Dan pulled out of the parking lot, taking two lefts to get onto the drive that led to the road. To explore a little more for supplies, Dan turned right down Route 111, and was on his way.

* * *

**POV: Team Others(Barry, Ross, Sylv)**

* * *

Barry and Ross had just left with a Sylveon slime, having learned about her and how this whole thing started. According to Sylv's stories, she was patient 6 or 7, if we go numerically up after patient 0. She had been like that for about two weeks now, and was sent by the owner of the newly founded state after the US government abandoned the area, Bernie, as she knew the area a bit better. She was worried about her new friends, Barry and Ross, as they went up the road, having sat in the back, by herself.

"So where to first?" Sylv asked. "We can leave this block, it's been manned so far."

"How about a perimeter search?" Barry asked.

Sylv was fine with this.

Barry began to drive down the major roads in the search area, starting with the crossroads. There were a set of schools down the up-down road, aptly titled Scholar Way.

"Should we stop at these?" Barry asked.

"I guess." Sylv said. They pulled over at the smallest of the three, for the smallest of the children. Despite the fact that this was, as a point of defense, rather okay, it was already overrun with slimes, noted by guard pups outside.

"I don't think that's a good idea to go in there." Ross said.

"I could ask up." Sylv said. "My Pokemon's not quite fluent, but I think I should be able to cover."

"If you want." Barry said. "Meet us at the middle school?"

Sylv nodded, opening the door, and closing it on the way out.

She padded off, on all fours, seeing what was going on in there.

_"Hello."_ She said to the guard pups. _"Mind if I come in?"_

The pups barked, running in.

_"Wait do I follow?" _Sylv said, peering in, bumping into an Absol.

_"Another slime?" _The Absol said. _"I could have sworn we had everyone around here._"

_"Who are you?"_ Sylv asked. _"I'm looking for humans."_

_"Why?" _The Absol asked. _"Transformation or something?"_

_"My clan's trying to build a human zoo." _Sylv lied. _"Thought we'd get an Pacific variety."_

_"You're not from around here?" _The Absol asked.

_"Dakota Labs"_ Sylv responded. While there was a Dakota Lab, it was merely a coincidental lie.

_"Well there's that holdout." _The Absol said. _"Nobody seems interested, so I guess you can take a look?"_

_"Trade?" _Sylv asked. _"Or is it just free?"_

_"Well if you have anything, I guess we could take it."_ The Absol replied. _"But really we're giving it away."_

_"So mind if I go in?" _Sylv asked.

The Absol nodded, showing her the Human. It was a Californian, as promised. She was an older female, and didn't age all that well. Regardless, nobody seemed interested in an old lady teacher, and those that were had been beaten back by the old lady. Having Sylv explained that the slime she was retained her human speaking, to attempt to pacify humans. Absol, while angered at this spark of humanity in this slime, saw this as useful.

"Hello." Sylv said.

"Y-you..." The lady said. "Can talk..."

Sylv nodded. "Also, you're gonna come with me, if that's okay anyways."

"And what good would that do me?" The lady asked. "You seem nice and all, but I'm trying to not get transformed."

"Least youllve gotten out." Sylv explained. "And how do you know that I'm not going to not transform you?" Sylv remarked.

The lady conceded that point, though she wasn't happy with that.

* * *

_About 20 minutes later..._

* * *

Having coaxed the camp of slimes, Sylv had gotten herself a fresh human! Though she was a bit old, she did still apparently have a punch left in her, someone to leave be for some time. The duo met up with Barry and Ross, who had also garnered themselves a small human tribe.

"Hey," Barry said, unsure of whether it was Sylv or not. Regardless, there still was the human.

"Hello." The duo said in unison. Sylv giggled a bit.

"Sylv?" Ross asked. "That you?"

Sylv nodded.

"Then Yo." Ross said. "We found this troop here. Buncha kids playing survival or something."

"Before we go in and show you, it'd probably be best to explain your catch." Barry said.

"Some teach I found." Sylv said. "She seemed to hold her own."

"Well that's good." Ross said. "We should probably take her back."

"Not yet." Sylv said. "We'll need all the manpower we can get for this group here you said. And also from what I've heard she'll be a valuable addition to the team."

The elder woman nodded. "I've fought a few of those... Things... In my time there."

"Should we go in?" Barry asked.

"Well why not?" The elder woman said. "We should get those little whippersnappers and show them... um..."

"Um?" Sylv asked.

"Give me a moment to think." The elder woman said.

"Show them how to rule a nation?" Barry asked.

"Just show them?" Ross asked.

"Why not?" Sylv said.

The elderly woman seemed a bit hesitant, but seemed to agree.

"Well that's that." Ross said. "Let's go!"

The four of them went inside, to see what they could find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After This, times of chapters are introduced, as the Crimson Convoy has begun to pull ahead of the other two groups in the term of timespan.

**Author's Note:**

> This is re-uploaded from Fanfiction.net. 13 Chapters are written, but I shall upload them weekly in the hopes that by the time I get the 13 chapters uploaded, I shall get back into the swing of writing and will be able to write one chapter a week, though maybe not per story. There is no major character death within the present 13 chapters, but I plan to off characters in the waning chapters, so I'll mark it now.


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